During the manufacturing and assembly of an aircraft protective covers are utilized to prevent damage to aircraft components. Repair or replacement of damaged components can be time consuming and cost abortive. The protective covers are generally wrapped over and held via straps to the components of concern. The covers guard against bumping and undesired intrusion due to shifting, transporting, storing, and assembling of components and systems during vehicle manufacturing processes. For further protection, the covers may have a flame retardant element, which reduces flammability of the covers in the event of a fire.
As an example, some aircraft components are covered with a protective wool cloth having a neoprene padding sewn therein. The wool cloth provides a durable outer layer and the neoprene padding provides an energy absorption inner layer. A flame retardant may be sprayed onto the wool cloth to prevent against enflaming of the cover.
It is understood that the use of the protective covers is costly. This is due not only to the costs related to the manufacturing and purchasing of the covers, but also to the application and removal of the covers to and from the respective components. Additional associated costs also exist in relation to the removal and reapplication of the covers for flight-testing. The covers, in general, have different characteristics, such as sizes, shapes, materials, and energy absorption traits, than their associated components. Since the characteristics are different and since the component and cover combinations perform differently and provide a different environment than the components alone, the covers are removed during testing procedures and then reapplied for continued manufacturing and assembly tasks.
It is also understood that the effectiveness of the flame retardant spray tends to diminish over time. The use of a fire retardant plastic in replacement of the flame retardant spray has been considered and is also costly.
In addition, it is also costly to form tooling or molds for vehicle components. The tools and molds can require tens-hundreds of hours to form, can be heavy, and can be difficult to handle. The tools and molds when utilized tend to become hot and the thermal energy contained therein tends to dissipate slowly. For example, upon the forming of an aircraft stowage bin door, a decorative laminate is vacuum formed onto the door to provide an esthetically pleasing and durable exterior surface. The tool used to form the decorative laminate is often referred to as a vacuum form mold. The vacuum form mold is often formed of solid blocks, which tend to be heavy. Also, during the vacuum-forming process the mold can be at such a high temperature that special equipment is needed for handling of the mold. The blocks may be of various materials including, for example, foam, aluminum, composite, and urethane.
The vacuum form molds may be formed within a fiberglass “lay-up”, referred to as a “splash”. The splash is formed through the lay-up of fiberglass on the mold die of the component so that it has a contour that matches that of the mold die. Typically it requires the working time of two or more technicians for approximately two days to lay-up the fiberglass. This time does not include the removing of the component mold die from service and the splitting and the cleaning of the die before use in production.
In industry it is desirable to minimize manufacturing and production costs of a vehicle and the components thereof. Thus, a need exists for an improved technique of protecting vehicle components throughout the manufacturing process of a vehicle, as well as an improved technique of forming tools for the production of vehicle components.